by Richard C. DeArmond
The following program is intended to be a computer implementation of a grammar of English syntax and morphology. It is being written C++. It will be converted to Java when Simon Fraser decides to support Java.
The theoretical framework is based in part on Chomsky's Principles and Parameters, in part on Minimalism, and in part on a framework which are temporarily calling A-structure grammar.
In this framework it is assumed that grammar consists of a set of rules (competence). The implementation of these rules is considered to be performance. A derivation is not a grammatical process.
The initial point of the grammar occurs in what we call A(rgument)-structure Model of Grammar. In the larger picture, Grammar: input and output, a message is somehow represented in a conceptual form, which is fed to the grammar. The final output is a phonetic string or sign language forms. This part is called generative. The opposite of this is the interpretation of a string. The interpretation makes use of rules of grammar in a reverse application. It is also dependent on contextual information to receive a well-formed interpretation. The grammar we are constructing here only goes as far as the phonological component we which call P-structure. We are not attempted to interpret a string at this time.
Currently it is assumed that polarity is the input to a sentence, followed by mood, and other verbal operators. The operators are the basis of grammar. They are required for the development of a sentence.
The basic premise of the grammar is that it initially contains a head, which corresponds to a predicate, and its arguments that can either be an object (noun) or another predicate (a verb in most cases). Each can be modified by a lexical modifier or by an operator modifier (a grammatical item).
